May 16, 2009

One of our wedding planners, Samantha, is being married today in Canberra. I am so excited to be attending a wedding as a guest rather than the girl running around like a headless chicken making everything look beautiful. Samantha has insisted that she style and organise the wedding all herself, which she will have done spectacularly, I have no doubt. However, with no centerpieces to fluff, no aisle runners to smooth and no flowergirls to chase, this leaves me in a position I rarely find myself in. What do I wear as a wedding guest rather than the wedding planner?

The invitation says formal, which is always a little difficult to guage. My wedding planning uniform of super-wide black pants and tuxedo jacket are out. I want to feel feminine. I want to feel different to the weddings I attend as a worker bee. I want to feel gorgeous!

I have a wardrobe full of 70’s style maxi dresses. Long before the fashion came back, my height and shape has dictated that this style is the best look for me. I am leaning towards a gorgeous Leona Edmiston dress I have stashed away that I last broke out for my brother’s wedding. But as the wind is incredibly gusty and the chill factor is likely to head well below zero, I need to be wary of staying warm… aaah, what is a girl to do?

This is the most formal of all wedding dress codes (think state dinners and the Oscars).
He should wear: A tuxedo, a long black jacket with tails, a white pique vest, and a bow tie. Black, formal shoes and even white gloves for dancing are appropriate.
She should wear: A formal, full-length ball gown in a neutral color like dark brown or black. Glamorous makeup and dramatic jewelry and hair are appropriate.

The invite says: “Black Tie”

This is the next most formal wedding dress code and usually means the wedding is an evening affair.
He should wear: A tuxedo. A black bow tie, cummerbund, and patent leather shoes are also suggested.
She should wear: A chic cocktail dress or a long evening gown in a dark, neutral color like brown or black. The bride, wedding party, or friends can help answer questions about the appropriate dress length.

The invite says: “Formal” or “Black Tie Optional”

The wording here suggests something slightly less formal than black tie. This means that a tuxedo isn’t required but the event is still formal enough for one to be appropriate.
He should wear: A tuxedo or a formal dark suit and tie.
She should wear: A long dress, a dressy suit, or a formal cocktail-length dress in a dark, neutral tone like brown, gray, or black.

The invite says: “Beach Formal”

This suggests an elegant beach wedding — so dress to impress, but also dress for the elements (sun, sand, and water). Anything you’d wear to a nice restaurant on a summer day is appropriate.
He should wear: A summer suit with a linen shirt (no ties required), linen pants or khakis, and sandals.
She should wear: A formal summer sundress at tea- or knee-length with flat sandals. Makeup and hair can be natural and everyday.

The invite says: “Semiformal” or “Dressy Casual”

Depending on the time of the event, you’ll want to dress somewhere between formal and casual. Wear darker, more formal hues for an evening fete; opt for light colors and fabrics for a daytime wedding.
He should wear: A suit and tie, dark or light depending on the season and time of day.
She should wear: A cocktail dress or a dressy skirt and top.

The invite says: “Casual”

Generally, casual means anything goes. That said, jeans, shorts, and tank tops are probably not appropriate unless they’re specifically noted as acceptable. For the purposes of wedding wear, assume business casual to be on the safe side.
He should wear: Dress pants with a button-down shirt or polo.
She should wear: A summer sundress or a skirt or pants with a nice blouse. Makeup and hair can be natural and everyday.

Stay tuned. I think the Leona is the key, but I may have to scrounge through my grandmother’s amazing coats and shawls to find something to keep me warm enough to brave this chilly Canberra weather.

Whatever I decide, I’m so excited for Sam and Jon. I know this day is going to be one never to forget. Gorgeous people completely besotted with one another… a wedding should be about nothing else.

Plastic bride and groom wedding cake toppers are definitely on the way out. Creative decorations that reflect the style and personality of the couple are in. I’m just adoring all of the lavish wedding cake toppers that have just arrived at the Pink Frosting online wedding shop. From the more traditional to the really humorous, the new wedding cake top has come a long way, baby!

Humorous and Unique Wedding Cake Toppers

Humorous Wedding Cake Toppers make a real statement about who you are. The ceremony is over, you’re relaxing at the reception and your cake can show the “real” you. From the bride who is “still shopping” to the exasperated bride with her soccer-obsessed groom; from the groom who has been “caught” by her fishing bride to the bride who is pinching her new husband’s bottom… these cake toppers add a touch of whimsy to the wedding reception.

A New Twist on the Traditional Wedding Cake Topper

Contemporary cake toppers with a nod to the traditional are a lovely way to decorate your cake. Some of the gorgeous new cake toppers we love include ethnic traditional cake toppers such as the beautiful Indian bride and groom in traditional dress, double happiness in a contemporary brushed steel style topper, and the stylised wedding couple that doubles as a keepsake ornament for the future.

Personalised Wedding Cake Toppers

Make your cake truly your own with a personalised wedding cake topper. From acrylic cake toppers engraved with your wedding names and dates, to wedding photo hearts and crystal monogram cake letters, to custom bride and groom caricature figurines, you really can make your wedding cake topper as unique as you are as a couple.

Fairytale Wedding Cake Toppers

Kick off your “happily ever after” with a fairytale wedding cake topper. We particularly love the new Hollywood Couple wedding cake topper with their very own “Mr & Mrs” Hollywood Star! We also adore the gorgeous princess figurine kissing her very own frog prince. The adorable love birds and the kissing couple make a sweet statement about the fairytale romance of the wedded couple.

And for the Non-Traditional Bride and Groom…

Let’s not forget the same-sex couple, the mixed ethnicity couple, the “expecting” couple or the simply out-of-the-box couple… There are contemporary cake toppers to suit just about everyone!

One of our favourite wedding cake designers, Paris Cutler from Sydney’s Planet Cake says that couples should find a decorative element or motif that has meaning for you. She suggests that you show your wedding cake designer your inspiration board, and ask them to incorporate your motif into a bespoke creation.

“We get inspired by what our brides love and at the moment we find brides are using beautiful and unusual elements and keeping everything else fairly clean – this could be anything from birds, black anemone flowers to monograms,” Paris says.

Whatever you decide, there has never been a better selection of wedding cake toppers available to buy for Australian brides. This really is a fun way to bring your personality to your wedding reception.

Bachelorette parties are one of our favourite parties to decorate and host here at Pink Frosting. You can be frothy, fun, and really girly because it really is a celebration of girliness, love and friendship. And the best way to express all of these sentiments is with the girliest pink, feathery fluff and kitchiest decor you can imagine. This is our Pinkalicious Bachelorette Party (No Boys Allowed)!

The Hens Party in a Box is the perfect start for any Bachelorette Party. We took so many elements from this fantastic box of tricks and used them as stationery, decorations, labels, tags and favors. The invitations included in the box are a great headliner for your Pinkalicious Bachelorette Party.

From top to toe, our Pinkalicious Bachelorette Party is fluffy and pink. Starting with budget conscious hot pink paper lanterns strung from the ceiling with a satin ribbon. Hanging from the base of the lantern is one of the small paper doilies which come in the fabulous pink Sweetheart Paper Doily packets of 72 pieces (can you believe that? These are one of our favourite new decorations at Pink Frosting).

We’ve created some fun pink flowers for the table using the LollyPop Pink Party Plates by Paper Eskimo. Super-easy for even the non-craftiest hostess, simply stick two paper plates back to back against a piece of dowel and stick the base into a clump of blutak covered with some fabulous feathers (to cover any nastiness).

For each place setting, we have placed the other paper doilies from the Sweetheart Paper Doily sets under each simply white plate. It adds a pop of colour to the setting. On top, we’ve used the fun stickers from the Hens Party in a Box which includes some fun nicknames for the guests and guest of honour. Each place setting includes a glitzy antique acrylic place card holder which is another of our favourite new products at Pink Frosting.

Our fun toasting flutes are so fun, aren’t they? With giant diamond rings in the centre, they are truly a bachelorette party must-have.

Finally, our gorgeous favors are the very popular With This Ring engagement ring keychain favors by Kate Aspen. As we wanted a Pinkalicious look, we removed the thank you tag which comes with the favor, and placed on our own pink circle tags which make the favor really work for the party theme.

If you want to see our gorgeous set-up in person, come on down to see us at the Pink Frosting showroom at 35 Whyalla Street, Fyshwick in Canberra.

If you’re a fan of giving chocolate as a favor, monogramming three pieces of belgian chocolate to give as bomboniere will no doubt really make you smile!

Everyone loves a decadent piece of Belgian chocolate, and when you have three generous pieces featuring your new monogram, a message of love such as S {heart} D, or a nickname, the Chocogram Bomboniere three piece chocolate favors make these favors even better!

Whether you are celebrating your wedding, a corporate event, a christening, a baby shower, a birthday party or any special occasion, these Chocogram favors are a great way of thanking your guests for attending and celebrating with you.

Chocogram™ is produced in Australia by one of our own best chocolatiers, using the finest imported Belgian chocolate. High quality chocolate packaged attractively and sent in special, insulated packaging for the warmer days.

Happy Mother’s Day! Baking for Mum has always been a bit of a tradition in my family, and I wanted to find a cupcake this year so that I could share the baking experience with my young kids. The fabulous Bakerella featured these cupcakes with a flower pop recently and I thought they were so cheerful and gorgeous for Mother’s Day. Who could resist?

Here are Bakerella’s instructions on how to create these gorgeous cupcakes:

Make your cake pops following the basic cake pop instructions, but instead of shaping the pops into balls, make them more oval-shaped with one end flat so you can glue the flower parts on. Also, if you don’t want to make the entire recipe into flowers, you can divide the baked cake into fourths and freeze the unwanted sections for later use. Yay!

When dry, dip the flat tops back in some of the melted candy coating. This will act as the glue. The coating should be starting to cool off so it takes less time to dry when you attach the pieces.

Now for the balancing act.

Lightly grip the cake pop in your left hand, so your thumb and forefinger can act as a ledge for the candy corn to rest on when you attach them to the top of the pop. If you can do this without letting your hands touch the sides of the cake pop… even better because your body heat can start to melt the sides if you’re not careful. It helps a little to let the lollipop stick rest on your leg if you are sitting down.

I know. I know. Sounds like a lot of work. But, I had come this far and they were for… you know… the person who gave birth to me.

Hold them in place long enough for the pieces to set/dry in place and not slide down the side of the pop… which will happen if you remove your hand too soon. Did I mention that this was an experiment? Anyway, when attached, place a tiny bit of candy coating in the center and attach the yellow candies to finish off the flower. Right about here, I realized how happy I was that I decided to only make a dozen of these.

Another method is instead of dipping the top of the pop in candy melts is to apply one petal at a time by dipping the bottom of the candy corn in some of the melted candy coating and then glue it to the top. Wait a minute. Did you get all that? Because I think my head is going to explode.

I wish I had a picture to show you all of this, but my hands were kinda busy.

It’s a good idea to get all your pieces ready before you start any glueing. The centers in this case were yellow mint candies from The Fresh Market. (But m&ms would work, too.) And, if you’re like most of the population, and don’t have extra bunny corn laying around, you can try using licorice pastels and licorice buttons or check out the nearest candy aisle and get creative.

These licorice candies give more of a wildflower look, but still pretty. I like them (also from the Fresh Market) because their shapes are a little more irregular. You can also get Good & Plenty brand licorice candies in this colour pink. They are just a little bit fatter and more uniform in shape.

When all the flowers are made, you can arrange them in a small heavy basket or vase (The heavier, the better, so it doesn’t tip over) with at least 2-inch thick styrofoam in the bottom. Also if you decide to transport, keep the flowers from touching each other. The petals can be knocked off easily if they fall into each other.

As for shopping for all of the pieces in Australia, the best candy shops online are:

With winter just around the corner, so many Aussie and Kiwi brides are in the last stages of planning their winter weddings. The very talented event team at Pink Frosting recently added inspiration for winter weddings including galleries, seasonal flowers, menus and decorating ideas over at the Pink Frosting wedding planning pages and the team in charge of buying at the Pink Frosting online wedding shop recently added a swag of gorgeous new winter-themed decorations, favours and wedding accessories to buy. I am on the lookout for more images, ideas and inspirations from around the globe for winter weddings and I just stumbled across an amazing blog called Sweet Designs, by event planner Amy Atlas. Amy specialises in high end dessert and sweet tables, which is such a huge trend right now (and a wonderful one at that). I am enamoured with Amy’s gorgeous tables, designs and especially love her Lavender Snowflake Dessert Buffet which was photographed by Karen Mordechai.

Does winter wedding inspiration get much better than this? I am also coveting this table and theme for corporate Christmas parties. Stunning!

May 8, 2009

Claire’s heartfelt plea for gorgeous plus-size bridal fashion in Perth which ran on Australia Entertains a few weeks ago has caused quite a stir. I’ve been inundated with lovely emails to pass on to Claire and so many brides have told me they have had the same experience (not just in Perth, but around Australia and elsewhere around the world). A fantastic company called Boutique 88 contacted me yesterday to tell me about their stores. I am floored by the beautiful range of bridal gowns, evening wear and fashion Boutique 88 carries for plus-size gals. Joanne the company’s Owner & Katherine, the CEO, takes their role of providing glamorous options for non-size 10’s very seriously and have a wonderful attitude, energy and enthusiasm for Joanne’s boutiques.So, I wanted to plug Boutique 88 and encourage Perth brides-to-be and anyone with a celebration coming up (and in need of a glamorous gown) to head on down to one of Boutique 88’s stores in Morley, Mandurah and Geraldton; or visit their online store to view their great range for sizes 14-30. Don’t you just adore this Henri Josef gown modelled by curvy girl & owner of Boutique 88 Jo!?

Claire- if you have not yet found help-please let us help you! You need to come & see us at Boutique 88. We so far have 3 retail stores (in Morley, Mandurah & Geraldton) as well as an online shop & specialize in sizes 16-30. Everything from chic & stylish day wear, cocktail & yes- Beautiful, affordable & simply divine bridal wear. We stock I Do, Paco, Gerry Shaw & yes the ever stunning Henri Josef Bridal collection-available to size 30. Seeing as though your wedding is in September, we can order in whatever you like out of their current season books (which we have just received) in a great array of colours and fabrics.

I hope this reply finds you so you can come in and try not one- but many beautiful gowns & that we can help you find something perfect for your very special day. Please don’t hesitate to email me more of what you are looking for to katherine@boutique88.com.au & hopefully our friendly & supportive team at Boutique 88 can be of assistance.

This is MASSIVE! The Pink Frosting warehouse is positively bursting at the seams with the new collection that has just arrived from Kate Aspen, one of the world’s leading designers of wedding, baby shower and party favors. As the representative for Kate Aspen in Australia and New Zealand, the Pink Frosting team have been so excited waiting for the new designs to hit our warehouse. Now, they’re here!

Here are some of the Pink Frosting team’s favourite bomboniere designs from Kate Aspen, but you can view the whole collection of 250+ favor designs here.

It’s a Shoe Thing stiletto heel shaped bottle opener is one of the most fun favors we’ve seen for a while. It’s heavy-weight, so whimsical for a girl’s night out celebration, whether it be for an 18th birthday, a bridal shower, hens party or a gorgeous little Christmas gift for your friends and colleagues.

The nest egg scented egg-shaped soap in a nest and a gift box (in blue or pink) is by far our favourite new baby shower and christening favour. It is just so adorable, I’m not even sure you need me to say more!

The topiary place card holder (also an adorable photo holder for your desk after the event) is just such a fun design we want to build an event around it. Wait for spring and use these on your table to create such a buzz with your guests.

With this ring chrome diamond ring bottle stopper is such a great take on the ever-popular bottle stopper bomboniere. We love it as an engagement party favor, for anniversaries and also as a girly wedding favor, perhaps with a complementary bottle stopper for the guys.

Hand fans as favors are such a great idea for a beach or garden wedding and we have never seen a hand fan favor as divine as these silk hand fans in a laser-cut box (with a matching personalised tag if you like) in ivory or black. Yes, yes, yes!

Oh so gorgeous. With over 250 favors to choose from, you will surely find something for your wedding, baby shower or other special event!

May 3, 2009

With mother’s day only a week away, I wanted to feature a cake that would make the perfect celebration cake for a beloved mother. Now while my Mum isn’t a knitter, both my grandmothers were and I just adored this cake the minute I laid eyes on it. I wished that they were both still around so I could share this gorgeous creation with them. What a stunning cake from our friends over at Pink Cake Box!

The cake is covered with weaved rolled fondant to create the basket. The balls of yarn are rice krispy treats wrapped in fondant ‘yarn’ created with the clay gun. Finishing details include sugar knitting needles, tortoise shell glasses, scissors, and a scarf in progress. Who says cashmere is better than fondant?!

Inside the basket is red velvet with vanilla buttercream and chocolate cake with oreos and peanut butter filling. Yum!

Ok, so we might not be able to replicate this amazing cake for mum this mother’s day, but isn’t this a stunning inspiration for your next celebration?

May 2, 2009

Capturing the sentiments of your guests at your wedding, baby shower, christening, anniversary or other special occasion is so important to keeping the memory of your special day alive for you forever. There are so many ways to do this, from the humble guest book to more modern twists such as wishing trees and video guest books.

The quality is just superb – fashioned in linen and accented with grosgrain ribbon, it is equipped with 132 envelopes and matching note cards for guests to elaborate their best advice or favourite memory. And because all their messages are neatly tucked away, you’ll be able to enjoy this wedding day, christening or baby shower treasure for years.

Whether you choose to tuck it away or keep it handy on a rainy day, you’ll surely delight in not only the wonderful words kept inside, but the beautiful look on the outside. With room to add your favourite wedding or christening photo and engraved custom lines, this is one wedding day accessory that is as unique as it is timeless. Set includes guest book, interior pages with 132 attached envelopes, 150 note cards, engraved silver plate and instructions for use.

We just love it and we think it’s a wonderful way to keep the memories alive for any special occasion.